French Women Don’t Get Fat

How women burn calories in France. Spinning… This video is will be worth your time. Will only take  a minute. It’s hilarious!

I am off to a cooking school in Provence with Patricia Wells.  I purchased her cookbook Patricia Wells At Home In Provence in 1996 when it first was released and have since then wanted to go to her cooking school.   I met her last year on a bus in San Diego and she was delightful and encouraged me to sign up.  And Yippee…now I am going! Twelve people will be students in her country house near Avignon. Ina Garten, another one of my favorites women, in her cookbook ‘Barefoot In Paris‘ recommended Patricia’s classes too, as they are friends.   Patricia takes students to her favorite places, markets, vineyards, restaurants and stores. Each day there is an excursion and cooking with the ingredients that everyone has gathered.  I am going by myself so this will be an adventure!  I am so excited! Pinch me!

Mireille Guilliano, former President and CEO of Clicquot, Inc(LVMH), another favorite of mine, wrote a book a few years ago about how European women approach eating. ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure’, is a fun read, where she recommends bread, champagne, chocolate and romance as key ingredients to a balanced diet and lifestyle. Mireille is one of the few women who has reached the top echelon of the wine and spirits industry and a champion of women in business. She works with groups promoting business opportunities and education for women and is Champagne Veuve Clicquot’s brand image. I liked her approach of one glass of champagne before dinner, one glass of wine with dinner, a croissant for breakfast and healthy food for lunch and dinner. No snacks and walk everywhere.

And Maya Angelou has always been an inspiration to me and her passing last week made me pause to remember how impactful her first book was to me, ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’. Throughout the beginning years of her family turmoil, she always took time to cook big dinners, cooking was her relaxation and therapy,  as good food and conversation were so important to her.  She continued to cook throughout her life and did so with many fine chefs.  She said to quote, “What I would really like said about me is that I dared to love.”  And by love she meant that condition in the human spirit so profound, it encourages us to develop courage and build bridges, and then to trust those bridges and cross the bridges in attempts to reach other human beings.

A quote from her eulogy:  “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it”.

Doesn’t that statement give you confidence?  She was amazing…